Today at 2000 UTC, the eighteenth season of the United Sportsball Alliance Fantasy League officially kicked off with the 2021 Draft. We go to the ever-resourceful FantasyPros.com for the post-draft analysis. This was certainly a different draft than we have seen in the past. Did the addition of an extra 0.5 points to PPR or the ability to franchise a player change GM strategy? Whatever the case, nine of the first-round picks were running backs. In fact, nearly 50% of the picks in the first three rounds were running backs. Here’s perhaps the strangest fact coming out of this draft, a tight end was selected in every single round except the final round. This is going to be an interesting season.
1st Pick - Yankee Zulu: For the third year in a row, Yankee Zulu took the first pick in the draft and for the second consecutive season took the best RB in the game, Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey was limited to three games during an injury-plagued 2020, but the 25-year-old is well-positioned for a big bounce back this season. McCaffrey is a candidate for 400 touches and is locked in as the top asset in fantasy football. General Manager Dave H. and Coach Harbaugh will need McCaffery to live up to expectations because mere hours after the draft they lost their #2 back J.K. Dobbins who was seen leaving the locker room in a full leg cast. No indications of the extent of the injury as of yet. Fear not however as the consensus of 144 FantasyPros, gave Yankee Zulu the second-best draft overall. No major steal for the Zulu’s but they certainly reached about two rounds too early for Dobbins who was ranked as a sixth-round draft pick according to the experts. Draft Rank: 2
2nd Pick – Hawk’s Bench: The Hawks came into 2021 looking to regain the glory they experienced during the 2015 and 2016 campaigns. Based on their ‘hawkish’ draft, they just might do it. Ranked first overall by FantasyPros.com the Hawks appear to have conducted a near-perfect draft which saw two of the most dynamic players in the game fall in GM Rich H’s lap with Dalvin Cook and D.K. Metcalf. The workload that Cook sees when he's on the field is absolutely absurd and he's one of the last true workhorse RBs in the NFL. Metcalf has 2,203 receiving yards over the past two seasons to pair with 17 receiving touchdowns. These two players alone could carry the Hawks into the playoffs. In terms of steals, GM Rich picked up QB Ryan Tannehill at #95 despite being ranked #40. The Hawks were also the only team in the draft to not overreach for a single player as every pick was targeted within one round of their expected selection. Draft Rank: 1
3rd Pick – Deer Antler Addicts: Despite having some AI help, GM Josh H. built a strong offense within the first four rounds picking up Saquon Barkley at back and a triple threat in receivers with Hopkins, AJ Brown, and Adam Thielen. The FantasyPro experts ranked the Addicts at fourth thanks to these four and the highest-rated bench in the league. That depth could provide vital depth throughout the season or create some interesting trade fodder. The only questionable move for the Addicts was taking RB Chase Evans roughly two rounds earlier than anticipated with the #70 pick. The steal of the Addicts draft was getting Jalen Hurts with the 118th pick overall in the tenth round despite most experts had him primed for a 7th round pick. Draft Rank: 4
4th Pick – DC Whitefish: With the fourth pick, the Whitefish took the Beast of Alabama, Derrick Henry followed by TE Darren Waller who certainly has the potential to challenge Travis Kelce for the top TE spot in the league. It’s surprising to see a TE who is not Kelce go so early, but the expectations are high for Waller who was targeted by most experts to be a late second-round pick. No big steal on the board for GM Sam B. but certainly a tremendous early selection for the best kicker in the league Justin Tucker. Tucker has spent the last four seasons on World’s Finest and was a major contributor to WFFC’s success; however, using an eighth-round pick might have been a bit of a reach. Even though the Whitefish drafted a solid core set of players, they lack depth overall and that was reflected by the FantasyPro.com ranking of twelfth overall. Draft Rank: 11
5th Pick – Takada Monster Army: TMA came to run the ball this season putting Alvin Kamara and Clyde Edwards-Helaire at the center of their offense. Kamara is Kamara, ‘nuff said. He’s arguably the most talented RB in the league both running and catching the ball. CEH is a weapon on the superpowered offense of the Chiefs, although the spreading of the ball in that scheme may reduce his workload on occasions. GM Mike S. also had a near-perfect draft in terms of following the expert’s rankings without any overreaching for players too early, but also no late-round real steals either. Beyond the first two picks, the rest of the team appears average on paper, but the depth on the bench may provide some security deep into the season. Draft Rank: 10
6th Pick – World’s Finest Football Club: The reigning champions appeared to have completely abandoned the strategy that won them four consecutive USAFL titles on Saturday. GM Dave S. has relied on stud wide receivers anchored by strong TE and K performances with above-average QB play. Instead, they went RB focused with Zeke and Mixon leading the ground game with Kyler Murray also looking for some extra points on the ground. If Mixon stays healthy and Andrews continues to play like a wideout, WFFC could see the playoffs again. Yet the Club lacks a true WR1 on this team and that could be the Achilles heel this season. The big reach for the Club is rookie RB Trey Sermon who they drafted in the seventh round who could have still been on the board in the eighth or ninth. If Sermon lives up to expectations and becomes a top 5 back, this may be the secret weapon that sends the Club back to the Bowl. Draft Rank: 6
7th Pick – Vinegar Strokes: The FantasyPros were not happy with GM Stephen S. draft strategy placing Team Goldblum in the twelfth spot in terms of draft rankings. The experts think the Strokes took Ekeler a round too early, yet as one of the best pass-catching running backs in the league, the points per reception make Ekeler a solid RB1 candidate. The Strokes will need to rely heavily on Aaron Rodgers and Najee Harris to carry the load as their lack of solid WRs explains the low draft ranking. It will be difficult to assess how brightly the aging stars of Antonio Brown and TY Hilton will shine, but the rookie Najee Harris could be a difference-maker late into the season. Draft Rank: 12
8th Pick – Kill’m All with Ebola!: GM Dave W. went hard out of the gates building a four-player WR/TE combo that is not only unorthodox but also the first time in history a team selected two TEs in their first three picks which certainly altered draft strategies across the league. The selection of Justin Jefferson with the second pick was not that surprising despite being a little early. Coming off of a truly ridiculous rookie season, the arrow can't be pointing any higher heading into year two and he has the potential to be a top 5 WR, especially with his 70% catch rate. Throw Russell Wilson into the mix and you have a solid starting lineup. Yet, these five will need to carry the load as Ebola all but abandoned the RB position until the fifth round where they selected Chris Carson who, if healthy, can certainly be a dominant ground force, yet he has not survived a full 16-game season in his career. Draft Rank: 9
9th Pick – Holy Penguins: Aaron Jones, Stefon Diggs, Robert Woods, and Tom Brady. These four make up a strong core for the Pens but there’s a level of risk involved with the rest of the team Can OBJ and Michael Thomas still perform at elite levels despite likely being beyond their primes? Brady should provide the same air raid offense he did last season which saw over 600 pass attempts, 4633 yards, and 40 TDs. As long as the Pens get production for at least one other starter, they should be in a great position for consistent 100+ point games every week. The only reach for the Pens this draft was taking the Buccaneers Defense roughly 2 rounds too early which started the run-on defenses going into the 10th round. Draft Rank: 7
10th Pick – Sanctus Koala: It’s hard to pass up the best QB in the league heading into the late first-round picks and taking Mahomes certainly was not a reach. You also have to respect the Antonio Gibson pick at #15 in the second round. It's hard to rank him over some more proven names, but this is a "swing for the fence" draft pick that has a very good chance of making it out of the park given the upgraded offense he’s playing with this season. GM Kim S. also nabbed Dak Prescott that could make for some interesting trade bait given he will rarely if ever, start ahead of Mahomes. She also has solid wideouts in Coopers and Juju that certainly makes this lineup a contender if Gibson pans out. Draft Rank: 8
11th Pick – Nash Kato: Nash Kato put together an interesting starting lineup with this draft with a tremendous upside. Jonathan Taylor is a top 10 back and Miles Sanders certainly has the explosive upside to break into that tier as well, if he can get the carries from week to week. The real power for this team comes in the form of Davante Adams, Mike Evans, and Logan Thomas. These three will like outperform the NK running game consistently. The real question mark comes with Stafford at QB. There's truly no downplaying how underrated Stafford is and how we haven't been able to see it on full display due to him playing on some bad teams. Getting him with the 107th pick in the ninth round was a great pick for GM Kevin G. The only real reach Kevin made in this draft was grabbing Sony Michel in the seventh round. Draft Rank: 5
12th Pick – SoDel Wood Ducks: In their inaugural draft the Ducks showed the rest of the league that they are here to play. FantasyPros ranked the rookie team at third overall, certainly putting the rest of the league on notice. The twelfth pick is always an interesting spot in the snake draft. A team loses out on the elite talent typically but makes up for it with back-to-back picks which creates some nice balance across the starters and bench. However, that was not the case for the Ducks who nabbed perhaps the most elite wideout in the league, Tyreek Hill, with the thirteenth pick. Tyreek Hill will certainly be the playmaker on this team as he gives the Ducks the ability to win a matchup any given week. With Nick Chubb and D’Andre Swift running the ground game, the Ducks will just need to hope for solid numbers from Justin Herbert or Joe Burrow, who the Ducks selected well below their draft value for tremendous steals. Draft Rank: 3
Visit the Draft Recap Here: USAFL 2021 Draft Recap
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